


come to war with me

by towokuwusatsuwu



Series: Pride 2018: 30 Days of S.W.O.R.D. [14]
Category: HiGH&LOW: the Story of S.W.O.R.D. (TV)
Genre: F/F, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Introspection, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 18:35:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14939660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/towokuwusatsuwu/pseuds/towokuwusatsuwu
Summary: The sound of the door swinging open catches her attention and she turns to see a familiar face, a young woman walking up to the bar in a soft violet skirt and a white top. She offers Naomi a smile, sees her hand, and immediately frowns, leaning across the bar.“Can I help?” Miho’s voice is soft, familiar and reassuring and warm, and Naomi’s heart flutters just a little at the sound of it.“The first aid kit is in the cabinet.” Naomi points to the appropriate one and Miho steps behind the bar to bring it to her, opening it and setting it on the counter for her. “Thank you. What are you doing around here? I thought you were long gone.”Miho takes a seat on the other side of the bar and smiles small and uncertain, folding her hands on top of the polished wood. “I thought I was, too.”





	come to war with me

There is only so much Naomi feels she can do from behind the scenes.

Watching the members of Sannoh Rengokai ride off into trouble so often in such a short period of time never fails to make her stomach churn with concern and with the fear one of them may not come home. As much as she wants to take off after them, either to drag them back home or just to make sure nothing happens to them, she knows her limits. She isn’t a fighter like them, and though they fight for the S.W.O.R.D. region as a whole, she has to protect Itokan. Letting it fall to waste when Tatsuya worked so hard to bring it into creation is not an option to her.

It may seem like weakness to some, not chasing down countless fights, not directly handling government corruption and yakuza influence, looming dark presences that none of them may ever be able to escape. Naomi has no doubt some view her position behind the counter of Itokan as one of safety— Though she feels like she can argue this point better now after Rocky and the White Rascals laid Itokan to waste over a simple misunderstanding.

In the beginning, maybe Naomi was a little frustrated there was not more she could do for them, to help them defend the home they all loved so much. Maybe she wanted to do something about it, fight alongside them, bloody her knuckles and scrape her knees and bruise her skin until it was visible to everyone she works just as hard as everyone else.

The thing is, she already does.

“Shit!” Naomi drops the knife in the sink without a second thought, followed by the cutting board as soon as she scrapes the vegetables she had been cutting off of it and into the trash. Her mind wandered too much; her finger tells the tale, bloodied now. “It’s not so bad. It could be worse.”

She has a scar along the back of her hand from another knife wound, an older one she accidentally gave herself when Tatsuya was first teaching her the intricacies of some of his meals. Someone had yelled something out in the restaurant and she turned to follow the noise, her knife slipping as a result. Tatsuya bandaged it for her and told her to always concentrate because any chef who keeps their knives sharp should know better than anyone that a simple kitchen implement can be just as deadly as a switchblade.

Naomi turns the tap water on, holding her hand beneath it to rinse off the blood, scrubbing her other hand over her face. She’s tired. The worry has kept her up at night and only last night when every member of Sannoh filed into Itokan— bruised and battered, maybe a little bloody, but beautifully alive— was she able to sleep more than four continuous hours. It doesn’t make up for all of the sleepless nights, but it’s a start, she supposes.

It’s better than waking up to find out one of her boys isn’t coming home.

The sound of the door swinging open catches her attention and she turns to see a familiar face, a young woman walking up to the bar in a soft violet skirt and a white top. She offers Naomi a smile, sees her hand, and immediately frowns, leaning across the bar.

“Can I help?” Miho’s voice is soft, familiar and reassuring and warm, and Naomi’s heart flutters just a little at the sound of it.

“The first aid kit is in the cabinet.” Naomi points to the appropriate one and Miho steps behind the bar to bring it to her, opening it and setting it on the counter for her. “Thank you. What are you doing around here? I thought you were long gone.”

Miho takes a seat on the other side of the bar and smiles small and uncertain, folding her hands on top of the polished wood. “I thought I was, too.”

Naomi bandages her finger as quickly and efficiently as she can. With the wound cleaned, she can see the cut is a small one, a cosmetic injury more than anything else and the bleeding has nearly completely stopped. She washes her hands once more for good measure before coming to stand in front of Miho, taking a moment to take in how happy she looks, how she seems to glow softly from the inside. It’s a stark contrast to the woman Naomi remembers in her most recent memories, still hurt by her past, afraid for Noboru.

“If you’re looking for—” she starts.

“Noboru?” Miho cuts her off and Naomi presses her lips together and nods, kicking herself for bringing him up in the first place, though she can’t think of another reason why Miho might be here. “I’m not, actually. I’ve heard that he woke up and that he’s doing better, and I’m glad for that. Yamato and Cobra really pulled him out of a coma. That’s very sweet.”

Her voice is soft and gentle but Naomi finds herself clearing her throat just the same, trying to paint a smile on her face. “Those three, you know, but Noboru still cared a lot for—”

Miho laughs and shakes her head and Naomi stops again. “It’s really okay, Naomi! I know Noboru’s in love with both of them. I’m not blind. And I don’t begrudge it either. We’ve both moved on, I think, and I’m much happier for that fact.”

The words bring a soft sigh of relief from Naomi’s lips and she leans forward on the counter, tucking a strand of her shorter hair behind her ear. “That’s good to hear. Sorry for making the assumptions. I just thought you might have wanted to talk to him.”

“For closure? I don’t blame you for thinking that. Most people probably wound.” Miho is quiet for a moment, then takes a deep breath and smiles up at Naomi so beautifully it almost takes her breath away. “But I feel a lot happier than I did before, now. Talking with Kizzy— Have you met her? She works with the White Rascals and she’s a lovely woman.”

_ Lovely _ is putting it mildly. After all was said and done and the S.W.O.R.D. pact was fully brought into being, Kizzy had taken it upon herself to drop into Itokan once or twice to search Cobra out to talk to him herself, and Naomi might have fallen a little bit in love the first time she met Kizzy formally. Tatsuya would have laughed about that, and the thought sobers Naomi a little.

“I know of her,” she settles on, giving Miho a little nod.

“We talked for a while when I was staying with the White Rascals, about Noboru, about what happened to me and what came after that. It’s… I’m picking up the pieces. She thought I might want to talk to someone, so I’m currently seeing a therapist and it’s helped a lot.” Miho wets her lips, looking a little uncertain, a little nervous, but she smooths out her expression and sits up straighter. “So I don’t need to talk to Noboru. I’m glad he’s happy with two people that love him. I suppose I just wanted to come back and visit for a little bit.”

“Itokan as a lot of memories for you, too, huh?” Naomi remembers Noboru bringing Miho here, how the two of them together glowed brighter than any of the lights ever could have.

Miho nods, tilting her head just a little, eyes no doubt scanning the space behind Naomi. “Yeah, it really does. And that isn’t a bad thing. It’s okay that there are good memories here, too, okay that I come here and spend time. Just because… Just because those men hurt me doesn’t mean I can’t come back and remember all the good times, and my friends.”

Naomi nods along with her words, a soft sweep of relief leaving her feeling warm and a little fuzzy. It’s genuinely good to hear Miho talking like this, to see her with a little of her old confidence back, and everything she said is correct. If she wants to come back and be friends with everyone once more, or just come to visit once in a while, she can do that. No one can take that away from her if she wants to take it back for herself.

“How have you been?” Miho asks, and she reaches out to touch Naomi’s hand with the bandage on it with her own, her fingers soft and cool against Naomi’s skin warmed by the various pans and pots she’s been working with all day. “I feel bad about not catching up with you more.”

“You don’t have to feel bad. It’s been pretty quiet. Itokan’s been making plenty of money, though. I think Tatsuya would be proud of that. I know I am.” Naomi wonders if he’s watching them now, if he’s as proud of her for holding this place up and taking care of it and making sure it succeeds as much as she’s proud of herself. “You know, it’s kind of nice to be where everyone comes at the end of the day when they’re tired and just want that sense of home.”

Miho squeezes her hand and Naomi’s throat tightens just a little. “It’s wonderful to hear things have been good for you. The Ichigo girls still been in and out of here?”

“You know they have.” Naomi chuckles. “Watch out, they’ll try to recruit you one day.”

“I don’t know that that’d be so bad. I really like Junko, and her girls were always so much fun when they’d all come in when the boys were here.” Miho speaks so fondly of them and Naomi nods in agreement; she loves when Junko and her girls are here, the life and spark they bring to the restaurant. “Have you ever thought about hiring someone else to come work here?”

Naomi cocks her head. “Hmm. That’s a good question. I guess it’d depend on who it was.”

“Well… I was actually thinking, if you wanted some help, that I’d be the one who offers.” Miho swiftly draws a piece of paper out of her bag, sets it out neatly in front of Naomi. “My resume. To be honest… I’m tired of running away from my past, and I want to be here with all of you. And Itokan was always an important place, and you’ve not ever had much help.”

“You want to work here?” Naomi queries, not sure she’s following correctly.

Miho nods, and when she smiles it lights up her bright brown eyes. “If you’ll have me. I can’t really think of anywhere I’d like to be more than I want to be here.”

“I don’t need to see this.” Naomi pushes the resume back across the bar to her, then takes both of Miho’s hands in hers and squeezes them. “If any of the boys give you shit, let me know and I’ll knock them around a little. Cobra keeps good boys around, though, you know that. So, with that, I suppose… Welcome to Itokan.”

“Please take care of me.” Miho laughs and bows her head a little and Naomi feels her heart crawl all the way up into her throat, sticking there firmly. “Though I trust you to, of course.”

Naomi walks her around the restaurant to give her a more thorough tour and writes up a quick list of the duties she usually has to complete to open and close, having never thought so hard about it before because everything is muscle memory for her. But Miho watches closely and listens intently, and she asks smart questions, and if Naomi trips over her words a little or flushes when Miho is closeby, well, Miho doesn’t say anything about it, so it should be fine.

Having help at Itokan might not be so bad. Having someone to help hold down the fort, someone who understands all too well what it’s like to have somewhere to come back to. Miho is already perfect suited to this, and Naomi’s excited to have her.


End file.
